"No power, no heart machine": Gary residents detail their suffering as the community enters day 10 of a blackout
GARY, Ind. -- Residents tell ABC57 they are tired. They're hot because they have no AC and have resorted to hanging out and even sleeping in a tent outside because it's cooler. They're hungry because they've had to throw out everything in their fridge.
"To a degree, I felt powerless."
Powerless — literally and figuratively as Gary residents and many in the surrounding areas fight through day 10 of a blackout. Paul H. Flowers, Jr. is a family man but right now, his family is split up. His son is going to his mom's house and his wife and daughters are going somewhere else.
"And only one night that I've had the entire family here just so that everybody could see that we're coming back at some point but other than that, I have my family; my children stay elsewhere just for safety," explained Flowers. He is staying in the house by himself to protect it after hearing stories and break ins during the blackout.
He says he found scratches near the latch of his front door and a tool that looks to be a screw driver that doesn't belong to him on his porch, where he believes, someone was trying to get in. The separation is protection right now.
Showing his empty fridge and freezer, Flowers says "this just shows that no one is immune, another empty refrigerator. I've got candles and then some sensor lights that we used when we come inside the house."
"I said when these lights come back on, what am I gonna do?"
Right up the street is Ms. Lisa Bobbitt and her daughter, laying in a tent because it's cooler in there than it is in the house. For this household, no power is literally a matter of life or death.
"I have an ICD, a defibrillator implant. I called 911, they said go to the hospital. Hospitals are only taking emergencies. No power, no heart machine," Bobbitt explained.
The loss this household has experienced goes beyond the loss of power. Bobbit's daughter, Amethyst, is grieving because two of her kittens drowned in the basement when they were saving all of their animals.
"Do you feel forgotten about?" ABC57 reporter Zakiya Jennings asked.
Bobbitt responded, "yeah, very much so. You know, it all depends on big ones, little ones. We're the little ones."
Lisa is tired. She's exhausted, but she's still thanking God.
“It could’ve been worse. It really could’ve been worse.”
Gary's blackout is drawing attention. Locals are posting videos to social media with thousands of views. Internet star Keith Lee says he's headed to Gary on Monday, August 24 and is partnering with the Salvation army and the City to hand out supplies and food.
It's a step in the right direction but Gary residents say the suffering is far from over.
Many residents including Flowers are part of a class action lawsuit against NIPSCO, alleging poor maintenance of vegetation near power lines, resulting in downed lines and power outages, according to the lawsuit.
Jack Tipold, individually and on behalf of other similarly situated, is bringing the class action lawsuit by counsel Allen Law Group, LLC. In a press conference at the law firm on Friday, Tipold detailed suffering intense pain after his oral surgery was cancelled and he couldn't get any prescriptions because of power outages that start Tuesday, August 11.
The lawsuit includes multiple allegations including:
Failed to identify and remove hazard trees and hazardous vegetation.
Failed to keep vegetation a safe distance from distribution and/or transmission lines consistent with NIPSCO manuals and custom and practice in the industry.
Failed to do and/or have people and line inspections properly performed that would have detected hazardous vegetation issues riddles through northwest Indiana.
You can read the full lawsuit below